Electronic Arts + Wii
http://ea.com/wii//


With the enormous success of the Wii in 2008, Electronic Arts came to us with a growing interest in creating a great new line of games for this platform to really showcase the perfect gaming union of EA Games played on the Wii. EA is known for their superior game graphics and some of the most successful new titles, like EA Sports, Sims and Active. The Wii platform has been embraced in millions of homes globally by families who never considered playing video games before. This was a huge opportunity for us. We developed the brandline of "EA+Wii Pushing Play" as our lead messaging and set about developing an offline and online campaign that would demonstrate how that statement is true. A key piece of the campaign was the ea.com website. We needed to build an online experience to drive users to that wouldn't just drive sales but showcase the entire "conversation" happening online about EA Games for the Wii. We built a massive aggregate. It's a hub for everything that's being said, discussed, reviewed, posted or blogged about regarding EA + Wii. We took a huge lasso, found some great partners, built a custom content manager, hired a killer community director and developed a few holiday promotions around the site launch to give us momentum. It's working. The site launched December 1, 2009 and traffic is exploding and the content is pouring in. One of the most successful aspects of the site has been the EA Stocking Stuffer we built on Facebook. We made it irreverent and easy to use and now people are sharing it. Go check it out!

Electronic Arts - Brutal Legend


This was the kitchen sink of video games. EA came to us and spent 2 hours explaining that this new title from acclaimed game developer, Tim Schafer, was going to star Jack Black as a Rock N Roll roadie named Eddie Riggs, who goes back in time to a land of metal, inspired by 80's album covers, so he can use heavy metal to destroy evil and save the universe. HELL YEAH! was the general reaction. Check out the spot.

AD: Amber Justis/Michael Kim
CW: Bob Goeldner/Caitlin Strick

SONY

Sony wanted us to help them announce that you could now download high-definition movies to your Sony PSP or PS3. We were able to secure usage rights for the Dark Knight that had just been released to DVD to payoff this concept and add to the sound design. We were also able to work closely with the motion designer to select stock assets that would allow us to create a 3D animation of the banner without shooting any film.

St. Ives Elements
http://elements.evb-archive.com//


St.Ives came out with a new line of skincare called Elements. They were known for their Swiss heritage and a very successful Apricot Scrub but with this line, they simplified their packaging, used organic ingredients, made some cool innovations (like getting SPF in a cleanser) and it was high time for an image overhaul to launch this line. We came up with the idea of getahappyface.com where the optimistic, lighthearted target could get their beauty answers with a healthy dose of fun. We created the "Table of Happiness" where all the elements of happiness could be explored. At the crux, the 5 new Elements products, surrounding them, more fun elements to show our target that you can find happiness outside of beauty products. Whether it's with a walk in the park, a big laugh, some feel-good music or a nice nap, it's time to get a happy face. All of these elements had a cool, bite-sized interactive component that was simple and portable. All these unique engagement pieces also lived off-site in banners, on Facebook, on partnership sites, etc.

JcPenney's - Dork Dodge
http://www.dorkdodge.com/


JcPenny's is your Grandmother's favorite store. When they decided to come out with a line of bedroom interiors called Dorm Life, they knew it was time to change their approach. They came to us to help them change the brand perception that teens had about JCP and make sure it was very precisely targeted so that Grandmother's everywhere wouldn't get wind of this new advertising and blow a gasket. We came up with the idea to develop a game that really captures something that teen girls are all excited about when they go away to college for the first time, meeting boys. In this game, the player has to make her way through a dorm (decked out in Dorm Life products) and dodge a series of "Dorks" in order to make it outside in time for her dream guy to walk her to class. Innocent? Well....sort of. Play!

Kodak
http://makemesuper.evb-archive.com//

Kodak's first motivation to test the viral waters was "We need to sell more coffee mugs." "Sure, no problem" we replied. The target was described as "anyone who used Kodak Gallery" so we knew this was something that had to appeal to everyone. When we presented this idea, they bought it on the spot. We knew it would resonate with Grannies and sorority girls and everyone in between. On makemesuper.com you could upload a photo, choose a customized song (complete with your name sang in the chorus, thanks to The Lodge) and then watch your "Super Someone" do a 75 second montage of well, less than super things. From burning cookies to eating it on a skateboard, these heros were hilarious. It was filmed in the style of a 70's superhero sitcom intro like the Greatest American Hero. We wrote the songs too. My partner and I even laid down the scratch track for the vocalists to match. Amazing effort from our entire team. Over 4 million people have visited this site and it's still growing. And yes, they sold a ton of mugs, not to mention t-shirts, mouse pads, aprons, etc.

FlyPen - Give Someone The Finger
http://www.givesomeonethefinger.com/


So once we had created a huge product site that let people play with the FlyPen, it was time to get viral. The target was teens so we came up with a really simple, provocative microsite called givesomeonethefinger.com where teens could send each other "the finger" via email, Facebook, Myspace etc. This talking, wig-wearing, world-traveling finger said whatever you wanted it to (with some moderation) and it also put the FlyPen right into their hands (teens could doodle on their finger to make it their own). Try it!

FLYPEN - LeapFrog
http://www.flyworld.com/


Leapfrog came to us with a new technology in tutoring, a computer pen with a laser eye that captures notes, complex math equations and even drum beats. Whatever your "thing" is, this pen can help you get better at it. Whether it's Science, Math, Music, Spanish, the FlyPen can teach you. It's the smartest pen on the market and it's fun to use too. We developed a full site experience with spots, demos, software details, you name it. This is one of the most robust tech sites I've ever created. We white-boarded this entire experience from start to finish. It was an IA extravaganza!

VO5
http://www.streetsmartschallenge.com/


So VO5 came to us and told us they were sponsoring a new reality show on VH1 called America's Most Smartest Model. Yes, MOST SMARTEST. This was going to be fun. They wanted an interactive idea that we could refresh weekly right after each Smartest Model episode had been broadcast on VH1. We came up with the idea of asking people on the street to do the same challenges they gave the models on the show to see how well the average person would do. We hired Beth Crosby from The Groundlings to add a little improv flair to each challenge. We shot 8 challenges in 1 day. With a rogue camera crew and an RV we cruised around San Francisco and made people do some really dumb things, with only VO5 hair products and on-camera time as bait. I've very persuasive.

DISNEY


This spot unveiled a new ride at Disney's California Adventure called Soarin'. It's an amazing flight simulator. We rode it about 17 times as part of the briefing. When you flew over the orange groves you could smell citrus. Pretty cool. We came up with the idea of using flightless birds as a way to tell the story that "now everyone can fly with Soarin'." We shot it with Kinka Usher, Mark Mothersbaugh did the score and we cast the Penguins from Batman to play the leading role. Amazing.

Google - Google University

Google came to us and asked us to help them develop an arresting on-campus teaser that would get students excited about a big Google demo that would take place on 100 college campuses nationwide. This demo was to promote a bundle of new products called "Google University". We created an animated short that ran on a loop inside these huge unbranded cubes that were placed in high-traffic areas on campuses. The cubes had 2 small viewing holes on each side. The short played for 2 days, drawing crowds of hundreds, then on the 3rd day, the cube expanded into a live demo location where Google handed out their new software for FREE. Gotta love Google.

Motorola

This series was the first global brand campaign I helped create. We had to come up with an ad campaign that could do the following: 1) translate into 22 languages. 2) help us leverage a new Motorola product almost every 3 months (you know, out with the old, in with the new object of desire). 3) increase it's perception of the Motorola brand as a "high fashion" tech company. Oh yes, and impress our Creative Director, Bill Oberlander, a man who knows his fashion. We did about 30 different executions to launch this campaign. The "Moto" language lives on today in the current ads, now 8 years in the making. Nice legs!

Logitech

Logitech makes really cool peripherals for computers. Speakers, cordless mouse controls, headphones, remote controls, etc. This campaign shows consumers how complex and beautiful the inner-workings of the human body are. When we touch, see or hear, the body's reaction is electrifying. Logitech's products enhance that experience. Tagline: Logitech. We know how you feel.

California Pacific Medical Center

We all held our breath to see if this client would buy a good idea and they surprised us all and chose a direction that was very brave and transparent for a health care company. We depict the stories of real CPMC patients who had undergone a life-changing surgery at the hospital. Telling two sides of the story each time with the copy while proudly painting a portrait of their battle scars as a thing of beauty. We met dozens of candidates and chose carefully; there were so many amazing stories. CPMC specializes in transplants and cardiology so we focused on their strengths. I also got to watch a heart transplant, a 5 hour procedure. This work garnered tons of praise from their board of investors and key support from the community that allowed them to attain permits to begin building billion dollar new campus slated to open in 2010.

The National Right to Life Organization

Ok, this was a tricky one. Let just say that I share a slightly different opinion than these folks. However, the task at hand was to develop an inspiring poster that would give pregnant teenage girls something positive to consider. We wanted these girls to feel like they could still successfully achieve all their dreams, even if they decided to give birth. We tried to put ourselves in their shoes for a moment, not an easy thing to do.

Cotton Inc.

Cotton does a lot of trade work. It's really important for them to advertise in places like the WWD (Women's Wear Daily, the retail bible) and stay relevant to young and up-and-coming designers. To partner with some of the leading designers of our time, we commissioned miniature replicas of the season's hottest frocks and modeled them with these quirky and captivating little ladies. We worked with the clay modeling genius behind MTV's Celebrity Death Match to design the unique look of these dolls. They were some of the easiest models I have ever worked with. A single word helped capture the designer's inspiration.

Polaroid Joycam

I've done a lot of jobs for Kodak in my career but this was by far, one of the easiest. It was spec! Joycam is a cheap, toy-like camera that produces an instant image result but the prints are a little more narrow than the original Polaroids. The film was also less expensive so the target was younger and our strategy was really playful. We wanted to inspire people to think about Polaroids in a fresh way. They're more than just photos for the fridge. No tagline, just a simple product shot (a Polaroid, of course) and the sweet price, $29.95.

AMC Bowling Centers

I was really proud of this campaign. It's about ten years old but I think it still works. I illustrated them myself, type included. They were OOH posters meant to remind people how fun bowling is with a nod back to old school Globetrotters-style print.